Now that the budget bills for fiscal 2006 have cleared both houses of the National Diet, one of the focal issues for the remainder of the current session will be how to reconcile conflicting views between the ruling and opposition parties over legislation on plebiscites, a process indispensable for amending the Constitution.
The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and New Komeito hopes to have a plebiscite law enacted before the Diet session adjourns. But that prospect has become cloudy following the resignation Friday of Democratic Party of Japan chief Seiji Maehara, a proponent of constitutional revision, and other DPJ leaders.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the promulgation of the supreme statute. In April last year, the constitution councils of both the Upper and Lower houses submitted reports on the need for constitutional amendments, completing five years of deliberations.